Machete-wielding gang kills 5 in 2nd Kenyan attack in past week

Attack occurred in Mpeketoni area, where more than 60 people were killed in militant attacks last week

Kenyan police officers patrol Mavuno villages near Mpeketoni after an attack on June 17 that left more than 60 dead. Officials confirmed Tuesday that the town had been attacked again, killing 5, but it was unclear who carried out the assault. (Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

No one claimed responsibility for the attack on Taa village late on Monday, the latest in a string of assaults that has piled political pressure on the government to secure the country and battered its vital tourism industry.

Militant group al-Shabaab, from neighbouring Somalia, said it was behind last week's killings in the Mpeketoni area, though Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta dismissed al Shabaab's account and blamed local politicians.

The "attackers used machetes and other crude weapons ... the victims have cuts and injuries," Taa village chief Kaviha Charo Karisa told Reuters.

Lamu County commissioner, Stephen Ikua, said an unknown gang raided the village in Witu district and killed five people.

The attacks on Mpeketoni were the worst since al Shabaab gunmen stormed Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall in September, leaving 67 people dead.